Guggenheim winner Cyrus Cassells discusses poetry, creative writing with Big Ideas TXST

Acclaimed poet Cyrus Cassells joins Big Ideas TXST for a wide-ranging interview examining his career, family and creative process in episode 11 of the podcast.

Cassells is a professor in the Department of English at Texas State and an instructor in the university's MFA in creative writing program. Keenly interested in history and world travel, Cassells talks about his time spent at a Catholic monastery and his visit to a Hawaiian leper colony, and how those experiences impacted his writing.

Cassells is the author of six books of poetry: The Mud Actor, Soul Make a Path through Shouting, Beautiful Signor, More Than Peace and Cypresses, The Crossed-Out Swastika, and The Gospel according to Wild Indigo, which was a finalist for the Helen C. Smith Award for the Best Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters and a nominee for the NAACP's Image Award for Outstanding Literature in Poetry. In 2019, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Among his other honors are a Lannan Literary Award, a William Carlos Williams Award, a Pushcart Prize, two National Education Association NEA grants and a Lambda Literary Award. 

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Big Ideas TXST is a monthly podcast from Texas State’s Division of University Advancement that goes inside the fascinating minds forging innovation, research and creativity at the university. Hosted by Daniel Seed, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, each episode features thoughtful interviews and discussion with the thought leaders developing innovative ideas to make the world a better place.

Big Ideas TXST can be found at news.txstate.edu/inside-txst/big-ideas-podcast. The podcast may also be listened to or subscribed to at:

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